Karajan - Bruckner - Symphonies No. 8 & 9

On the occasion of Bruckner's anniversary, the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Christian Thielemann recorded a complete Bruckner cycle for the first time. In addition to the well-known canon of nine symphonies, the two earliest Bruckner symphonies in F minor and D minor were also recorded for the first time in the history of the orchestra, which represent a world premiere on DVD and Blu-ray. This unique complete edition from the Musikverein and Salzburg Festival with 11 symphonies also contains detailed conversations with Christian Thielemann about each symphony and insights into his rehearsal work.

On the occasion of Bruckner's anniversary, the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Christian Thielemann recorded a complete Bruckner cycle for the first time. In addition to the well-known canon of nine symphonies, the two earliest Bruckner symphonies in F minor and D minor were also recorded for the first time in the history of the orchestra, which represent a world premiere on DVD and Blu-ray. This unique complete edition from the Musikverein and Salzburg Festival with 11 symphonies also contains detailed conversations with Christian Thielemann about each symphony and insights into his rehearsal work.

Leonard Bernstein made these recordings during his wonderfully productive collaboration with the Wiener Philharmoniker in the mid-1970s when he was at the peak of his career. Humphrey Burton's direction is, as always, very fine, giving the viewer/listener both the larger picture and highlighting individual soloists, players or groups of musicians and, of course, the maestro. The video and audio tracks show their age, but are quite acceptable even for today's standards. Bernstein's Seventh is everything one could desire: dark and spooky, highly sensual, but also structurally strong and assertive where needed. Bernstein's reading does not gloss over breakdowns in tonality and the foreshadowing of later musical developments.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVENSymphonies Nos. 1, 8 & 9 Performed byGwyneth Jones · Hanna SchwarzRené Kollo · Kurt Moll In Vienna at the Konzertvereinigung With the Wiener Staatsopernchorand the Wiener PhilharmonikerLeonard Bernstein, conducting

Filmed on tour at Berlin's Philharmonie, this account of the valedictory Ninth Symphony is an intense interpretation, expressing Bernstein's conviction that modern man had at last caught up with the message encoded in Mahler's last completed work. Having made his famous 1966 studio recording of "Das Lied von der Erde" in Vienna, Bernstein re-recorded this in Israel with the same searing subjectivity. René Kollo draws on the voice of a great Wagner tenor, while Christa Ludwig, the greatest exponent of the contralto songs at the time, is unbearably poignant in the final movement's fusion of elation and sadness.

For Mahlerites, his symphonies are much more than musical performances--they can be an emotional or spiritual journey through the struggles, fears, and triumphs of life. This Sixth Symphony is a 1976 performance in the Vienna Musikvereinssaal with PCM stereo and DTS 5.1. The 2 dvd set also includes the 4th and 5th symphonies, which are performed as magnificently as the Sixth.

Beginning with the First Symphony, Bernstein reveals Mahler's position at the hinge of modernism, while emphasizing his emotional extremism. The uplifting Second "Resurrection" Symphony, with which Bernstein had an especially long and close association, is recorded here in a historic performance from 1973, set in the Romanesque splendor of Ely Cathedral. In the Third, Bernstein encompasses the symphony's spiritual panorama like no other conductor, with the Vienna Philharmonic players alive to every nuance.

Simon Rattle is one of the most distinguished Sibelius conductors of our time. Consequently, his recording of all the composer’s seven symphonies, which he performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2015, attracted all the more attention.

This box set brings together Valery Gergiev’s acclaimed cycle of the complete Rachmaninoff symphonies, which were recorded with the Orchestra across 2008 to 2015. These masterful accounts of the composer’s complete symphonies are accompanied by his 1940 composition Symphonic Dances, while two symphonic poems by Mily Balakirev echo the luxurious textures present throughout Rachmaninoff’s music. Release date: 20 April 2018LSO0816 | 822231181620 3 SACD Hybrid + 1 Pure Audio Blu-ray | DigiboxBooklet notes in English, French and German2.0 stereo | multi-channel 5.1Total playing time: 3h 35m Producer: James MallinsonEngineering: Classic Sound LtdRecorded live at the Barbican Hall, London September 2008 - February 2015